Importance of Food Safety Training

Importance of food safety training in any food handling business is significant. Both consumers and those working in the hospitality and retail sectors are becoming more aware of the importance of food safety and implementation of HACCP based procedures. Part of the reason for this is when there is an incident of food poisoning, a large number of people may be affected resulting in serious legal issues, negative publicity and loss of livelihood. Owing to this, some businesses might be forced to close down.

 

Why is it Important to Train People in Safe Food Handling

It is the legal responsibility of everyone involved in the food sector to carry out their food-related activities in a hygienic manner. This applies to all food handling areas. In summary, these include food service, food wholesaling, food retailing and food processing. Each year there are 4000 – 5000 reported cases of food poisoning in the island of Ireland. However, the actual figure may be considerably higher than this. This is owing to many people with mild symptoms do not report these symptoms. To illustrate, the FSAI report from 2022 states that there were 4,058 complaints from consumers in 2022. About 1,200 were relating to unfit food and more than 1,100 each due to poor hygiene standards and suspected food poisoning. In other words, food poisoning concerns almost doubled from the 622 received in 2021.

Food poisoning, also called foodborne illness, is illness caused by eating contaminated food. Infectious organisms, including bacteria, viruses and parasites, or their toxins are the most common causes of food poisoning. Infectious organisms or their toxins can contaminate food at any point of processing or production.

To learn more about food poisoning and how to prevent it, the eLearn Safety has developed fully online food safety courses. These courses are designed to introduce participants to food safety and hygiene issues. All courses are based on the training criteria set down by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland’s Guide to Food Safety Training at appropriate level.

On completion of this food safety training course, participants will be able to understand their requirements under Irish food safety legislation as well as following best work practices.

 

Consequences of Poor Food Handling Practices

Food poisoning symptoms, which can start within hours of eating contaminated food, often include nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. Most often, food poisoning is mild and resolves without treatment. However, some people need to go to the hospital. In addition, food poisoning is especially serious and potentially life-threatening for young children, pregnant women and their fetuses, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems.

In any case, to prevent food poisoning, these essential principles should be adhered to:

• Wash your hands, utensils and food surfaces often.
• Keep raw foods separate from ready-to-eat foods.
• Cook foods to a safe temperature.
• Refrigerate or freeze perishable foods promptly.
• Defrost food safely.
• If in doubt, throw it out.

Remember, it is a legal requirement that staff who are involved in a food environment are trained and/or supervised commensurate with their work activity!

 

Online Food Safety Training

Please remember – it is a legal requirement that staff who are involved in a food environment are trained and/or supervised commensurate with their work activity!

Myelearnsafety offers fully online Food Safety (HACCP) courses.

To find out more, please check our Courses page.

Alternatively, should you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to let us know via email info@elearn.ie

 

Selling or Advertising Food Online

Selling or advertising food online has become a norm nowadays. However, before anyone decides to sell or advertise food online they have to make sure to research any relevant food safety laws.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has developed a Selling or Advertising Food Online leaflet with essential information for all those who are selling or advertising food online (including alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages). Although published in 2017, this is a relevant guide that lists the mandatory information you must provide to the consumer when selling food online.

 

Selling or Advertising Food Online Guide

The guide makes it clear that if a food business sells or advertises food online, they are responsible for the food information provided to their customer and must comply with relevant food law. The guide goes on to highlight key areas which food businesses selling or advertising online should address, including:

• Registering your food business.
• Provision of food information to consumers.
• Displaying mandatory food information.
• Making claims about food.
• Temperature control.
• Traceability.
• Product recall.
• Notifying food supplements to the FSAI.
• Consumer protection law.

Although this leaflet focuses on the rules for selling food online, the rules also apply to food sold or advertised by any other means of distance communication.

 

Meeting the Requirements

Any food supplied through distance selling must meet the same information requirements as food sold in a physical premise e.g. a shop. The Regulation defines “means of distance communication” as “any means which, without the simultaneous physical presence of the supplier and the consumer, may be used for the conclusion of a contract between those parties”.

Common methods of selling food by means of distance communication include:

• Websites
• Social media pages
• Online market places
• Mail order
• Telephone
• Text message
• Catalogues
• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Leaflets

 

If you sell food online, you must comply with the relevant food law. The main purpose of food law is to ensure that food available for consumers to buy is safe. It also requires food businesses to provide consumers with the necessary information about food, so that they can make an informed choice at the time of purchase. Food law prohibits the use of misleading information.

To find about requirements for selling or advertising food online please refer to this Selling or Advertising Food Online leaflet published by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).

 

Online Food Safety Training

Please remember – it is a legal requirement that staff who are involved in a food environment are trained and/or supervised commensurate with their work activity!

Myelearnsafety offers fully online Food Safety (HACCP) courses.

To find out more, please check our Courses page.

Alternatively, should you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to let us know via email info@elearn.ie

Importance of Managing Food Allergens

Importance of Managing Food Allergens in any food handling premises is significant. It is reported that approximately 3% of adults and 5% of children in Ireland have food allergies (IFAN, 2020).

Many people are allergic to certain foods. You must always be aware of all the ingredients contained in the food served by your kitchen. For example, many pre-prepared foodstuffs such as ice-cream contain eggs, and other foods contain traces of nuts. Be very careful when garnishing food, because even if a pre-prepared food type is allergen free, if it is garnished with chopped nuts it can become fatal to certain people.

 

How to Manage Food Allergens

All members of staff should be trained in allergen awareness and observe the house rules, and everyone should be able to recognise the symptoms of an allergic reaction. Of course some restaurants serve shellfish and dishes containing nuts, and the key here is awareness: the staff must be aware of food ingredients and the customers likewise. It is very important that your supplier provides complete ingredient information and alerts you when any changes are made. It is also very important to listen carefully to your customers. If an allergy sufferer asks for information about the ingredients of a certain food it is essential that you understand them completely so that you can give an accurate response. Never guess!

eLearn Safety offers a fully online Management of Food Allergens course. The course is designed to introduce participants to understanding food allergens and management of associated risks. On completion of this food allergen training course, participants will be able to understand their requirements under Irish food safety legislation as well as following best work practices.

 

The 14 Allergens

The EU has a list of 14 food allergens that you must declare the presence of if they are used as ingredients in your food (FSAI, 2024).

1. Cereals containing gluten – wheat (such as spelt and khorasan wheat), rye, barley, oats. Note: The cereal name, e.g., ‘wheat’, must be declared and highlighted, not ‘gluten’.
2. Crustaceans, e.g., crabs, prawns, lobsters.
3. Eggs.
4. Fish.
5. Peanuts.
6. Soybeans.
7. Milk.
8. Nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecan nuts, brazil nuts, pistachio nuts, macadamia/Queensland nut). Note: The name of the nut, e.g., ‘almond’, must be declared and highlighted, not ‘nuts’.
9. Celery.
10. Mustard.
11. Sesame seeds.
12. Sulphur dioxide and sulphites (at concentrations of more than 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/L in terms of total sulphur dioxide) – used as a preservative.
13. Lupin.
14. Molluscs, e.g., mussels, oysters, squid, snails.

 

Why is it Important to Manage Food Allergens

Allergies can cause an anaphylactic shock, which is life-threatening.

The symptoms include:

• reddening of the skin, swelling of the lips and eyelids,
• swelling of the throat, difficulty breathing and/or speaking feeling faint due to a serious drop in blood pressure,
• nausea,
• collapse and unconsciousness.

As noted earlier, if someone suffers these symptoms you must render immediate medical attention and call an ambulance.

 

Online Food Safety Training

Please remember – it is a legal requirement that staff who are involved in a food environment are trained and/or supervised commensurate with their work activity!

Myelearnsafety offers fully online Food Safety (HACCP) courses.

To find out more, please check our Courses page.

Alternatively, should you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to let us know via email info@elearn.ie

Work Related Stress and Mindfulness

Work related stress and mindfulness are those workplace topics that are very often overlooked by both employers and employees. However, employers have a duty under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 to protect all employees from hazards which can lead to injury.

 

Work Related Stress

It is believed that a significant work downtime is due to sick leave brought by work related stress. This may be due to various personal reasons, or the physical and emotional challenges of the job. Work related stress, however, is not only this invisible ‘illness’. Stress can manifest itself by causing stomach and skin conditions, heart disease and depression.

There are a number of factors that can influence stress in the workplace. Some of these factors include poor working conditions, overwork, job insecurity, personal reasons (such as ‘imposter syndrome‘), peer pressure (such as harassment), unrealistic targets, lack of leadership (not knowing what to do) and poor management.

 

Identifying Work Related Stress

No person is exactly the same and stress will affect people differently. There are a number of factors which may affect how an employee will cope with stress. Some of the examples are employee skills and experience, age and disability, etc. Employees should be encouraged to report stress and management should be trained to recognise the causes and symptoms. By talking to employees, an employer can identify the signs of stress, and importantly they can prevent and reduce workplace related stress.

 

Mindfulness

Prevention is one of the most important steps of any successful risk management. One of the ways to prevent stress is raising awareness about work related stress. For this purpose eLearn Safety has designed and developed a number of relevant fully online courses. For example, the Workplace Stress course is designed to suit a diverse range of workplaces. It deals with topics such as how to define workplace stress, which safety legislation applies to it, how to identify common causes of workplace stress and stress management.

Another beneficial course is a fully online Working Safely course. Working Safely is a 2 hour online course for people at any level, in any sector, that will boost business performance and staff motivation. Simply by showing how everyone can enhance their safety, health and wellbeing through everyday behaviours. The topics include importance of working safely, definitions of hazards and risks, common workplace hazards and how to improve safety performance.

 

Additional Resources

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has a number of useful resources that can be used in managing work related stress. One of these resources is WorkpositiveCI. WorkpositiveCI has been developed by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), State Claims Agency (SCA) and Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Network Ireland. It is a free, easy to use, innovative, confidential, psychosocial risk management process that provides feedback on workplace stress, employee psychological wellbeing and critical incident exposure in the workplace. It is designed to deliver structured guidance enabling organisations to develop an action plan to mitigate against these stressors.

In addition, the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has published a number of useful guidance, publications and resources on workplace stress.

 

Online Health and Safety Training

Proactive Health and Safety training is critical to ensure a safe workplace. An effective training program can reduce the number of worker injuries and deaths. It can also reduce instances of property damage, legal liability, illnesses, and missed time from work.

Health and Safety training helps establish a culture in which employees themselves help promote proper safety procedures while on the job. It is important that new employees be properly trained and embrace the importance of workplace safety. The role of training in developing and maintaining effective hazard control activities is a proven and successful method of intervention.

This is why we have established Myelearsafety school. We pride ourselves in how we guide, support and mentor our students. They receive support throughout their learning experience and into their working lives. Our staff have extensive training experience and also have many years industry experience. We understand the challenges that exist within Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety. Our priority is to ensure that all learners are fully prepared to differentiate themselves in the workplace after completing our Health and Safety courses.

Myelearnsafety offers fully online Health and Safety courses.

To find out more, please check our Courses page.

Alternatively, should you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to let us know via email info@elearn.ie